Sometimes it is fun to imagine what the perfect “anything” could look like, whether it is a car, a computer, a pizza, or anything in between. So we got to thinking about BI solutions, and what our ideal one would look like.

We went around the iVEDiX office and asked our BI gurus and Solution Architects a question: “Without any consideration for hardware or software limitations, what would be your perfect business analytics system?” We received a bunch of great answers, and we compiled them into the paragraphs that follow.

1) Our perfect solution starts with the operating system and the machine it is running on. The machine, which projects its user interface over a hologram, authenticates the user by dual authentication using retina scan and voice recognition. The user is then presented with information only relevant them. The machine, naturally, only uses voice and retina movement for manipulation.

2) The data in the system will exist in real time. Aggregated data is updated on the fly, as well as any predictive models, so that predictions are as accurate as possible. It is able to identify corrupt data and fix it based on multiple algorithms.

3) The system will be able to handle the most complex big data sources including data from social media, weather, people’s mood, TV and radio influence, current events, etc.

4) This data would in turn be part of a robust predictive model that not only projects the next few months, but can also make even more accurate predictions of the next few hours. This could be tremendous for retail, as an example. Being able to tie this data into making predictions on buying preferences, and based on current weather, pop culture and trends in social media would be a first.

Obviously, this is all some pie-in-the sky stuff. Holograms? Algorithms that clean dirty data? But some of it is not so far fetched. After all, miVEDiX already does stream unstructured and structured data side by side, and is capable of engaging multiple technology stacks. Adding a stream for weather or some kind of mood-recording system doesn’t seem too far out of line from what we can do already.

Anyway, these kinds of exercises are great because they get us thinking about not only what is possible, but what is not possible . . . right now. But it’s important to remember that plenty of things look impossible until you start doing them.